In-line metallizer assemblies and part-coating conveyor systems incorporating the same

Abstract

In-line metalizer assemblies can include an external rotating actuator exchange that can be operable to exchange one or more parts between a conveyor system and a vacuum chamber, and an internal rotating actuator exchange within the vacuum chamber that can be operable to receive the one or more parts from the external rotating actuator exchange, transition the one or more parts to a sputter coater integrated with the vacuum chamber for metallizing, and return metalized one or more parts to the external rotating actuator exchange such that the external rotating actuator exchange can return the metalized one or more parts to the conveyor system.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An in-line metallizer assembly for sputter coating pre-metalized parts, the in-line metallizer assembly comprising:
 a vacuum chamber; 
 a sputter coater in communication with the vacuum chamber and comprising a cathode and a sputter coater wall; 
 an internal rotating actuator exchange positioned within the vacuum chamber for exchanging pre-metalized parts into the sputter coater and metalized parts out of the sputter coater, the internal rotating actuator exchange comprising an internal rotating pivot, internal actuating arms that are coupled to the internal rotating pivot and are adapted to extend and retract from the internal rotating pivot, and a first internal door clasp and a second internal door clasp that are each coupled to one of the internal actuating arms; 
 a part carrier comprising at least one rotatable pin fixture, a lifting body, a support frame that is spaced apart from the lifting body, and a biasing element comprising a pin that slides relative to at least one of the lifting body or the support frame of the part carrier and spring that applies a force to the lifting body and the support frame, wherein the biasing element may be compressed such that a relative position between the lifting body and the support frame is repositionable along the pin, the part carrier adapted to be moved into and out of the sputter coater by the internal rotating actuator exchange; 
 a rotation mechanism positioned within the sputter coater, the rotation mechanism selectively coupled to the at least one rotatable pin fixture, wherein the biasing element maintains contact between the at least one rotatable pin fixture and the rotation mechanism; and 
 a drive shaft extending into the sputter coater through the sputter coater wall and coupled to the rotation mechanism for controlling rotation of the at least one rotatable pin fixture. 
 
     
     
       2. The in-line metallizer assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of rotatable pin fixtures, wherein each rotatable pin fixtures is selectively coupled to the rotation mechanism. 
     
     
       3. The in-line metallizer assembly of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the rotation mechanism comprises a continuous drive element arranged around a first drive gear and a second drive gear, 
 the at least one rotatable pin fixture comprises a fixture gear rotationally coupled to a support shaft, the fixture gear and the support shaft rotate together with respect to the part carrier; and 
 the part carrier is selectively positioned within the sputter coater such that the fixture gear meshes with the continuous drive element of the rotation mechanism. 
 
     
     
       4. The in-line metallizer assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising a rotation drive that is positioned outside of the vacuum chamber and is coupled to the drive shaft. 
     
     
       5. The in-line metallizer assembly of  claim 4 , wherein the rotation drive is a servo motor or an electric motor. 
     
     
       6. The in-line metallizer assembly of  claim 4 , further comprising an electronic controller communicatively coupled to the rotation drive, the electronic controller comprising a processor and a memory electrically coupled to the processor, the memory storing a computer readable instruction set that, when executed by the processor, selectively commands rotation and/or indexed positioning of the rotation drive thereby controlling an angular orientation of the at least one rotatable pin fixture. 
     
     
       7. An in-line metallizer assembly for sputter coating pre-metalized parts, the in-line metallizer assembly comprising:
 a vacuum chamber; 
 a sputter coater in communication with the vacuum chamber and comprising a cathode frame positioned within a vacuum chamber and a cathode coupled to the cathode frame; 
 an internal rotating actuator exchange positioned within the vacuum chamber for exchanging pre-metalized parts into the sputter coater and metalized parts out of the sputter coater, the internal rotating actuator exchange comprising an internal rotating pivot, internal actuating arms that are coupled to the internal rotating pivot and are adapted to extend and retract from the internal rotating pivot, and a first internal door clasp and a second internal door clasp that are each coupled to one of the internal actuating arms; 
 a part carrier comprising at least one rotatable pin fixture, a lifting body, a support frame that is spaced apart from the lifting body, and a biasing element comprising a pin that slides relative to at least one of the lifting body or the support frame of the part carrier and spring that applies a force to the lifting body and the support frame, wherein the biasing element may be compressed such that a relative position between the lifting body and the support frame is repositionable along the pin, the part carrier adapted to be moved into, maintained in position within, and out of the sputter coater by the internal rotating actuator exchange; and 
 a rotation mechanism positioned within the sputter coater, the rotation mechanism selectively coupled to the at least one rotatable pin fixture, wherein the biasing element maintains contact between the at least one rotatable pin fixture and the rotation mechanism; 
 wherein the cathode has at least one direction of freedom of movement as to be selectively positioned within the sputter coater. 
 
     
     
       8. The in-line metallizer assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one direction of freedom of movement allows the cathode to be tilted in a vertical orientation. 
     
     
       9. The in-line metallizer assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one direction of freedom of movement allows the cathode to be tilted in a horizontal orientation. 
     
     
       10. The in-line metallizer assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one direction of freedom of movement allows the cathode to be translated in a vertical direction. 
     
     
       11. The in-line metallizer assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one direction of freedom of movement allows the cathode to be translated in a horizontal direction. 
     
     
       12. The in-line metallizer assembly of  claim 7 , further comprising a cathode drive mechanism coupled to the cathode and the cathode frame, the cathode drive mechanism modifies the position and/or orientation of the cathode relative to the cathode frame in the at least one direction of freedom of movement. 
     
     
       13. The in-line metallizer assembly of  claim 12 , wherein the cathode drive mechanism comprises at least one linear servo motor. 
     
     
       14. The in-line metallizer assembly of  claim 12 , wherein the cathode drive mechanism comprises at least one rotary servo motor. 
     
     
       15. The in-line metallizer assembly of  claim 12 , further comprising an electronic controller communicatively coupled to the cathode drive mechanism, the electronic controller comprising a processor and a memory electrically coupled to the processor, the memory storing a computer readable instruction set that, when executed by the processor, selectively commands the cathode drive mechanism to tilt and/or translate the cathode in the at least one direction of freedom of movement relative to the cathode frame as to control an angular orientation and/or positional orientation of the cathode within the sputter coater. 
     
     
       16. The in-line metallizer assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising an external rotating actuator exchange positioned outside of the vacuum chamber and adapted to exchange part carriers into and out of the vacuum chamber, the external rotating actuator exchange comprising an external rotating pivot, external actuating arms that are coupled to the external rotating pivot and are adapted to extend and retract from the external rotating pivot, and a first external door clasp and a second external door clasp that are each coupled to one of the external actuating arms. 
     
     
       17. The in-line metallizer assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising a rotary feed-through that is coupled to the sputter coater wall of the sputter coater, the rotary feed-through forming a fluid-tight seal between the sputter coater wall and the drive shaft.